Irenas j



(No Manel.)

1. J. PALMER. STAIB. GURVE.

No. 486,940. Patented Nov. 29, 1892.

UNITED STATES PATENT OEEroE.

IRENAS J. PALMER, OF OLEAN, NEV YORK, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF TO THOMAS STORRS, OF SAME PLACE.

STAI R-CU RVE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 486,940, dated November 29, 1892.

Application led July 16, 1892. Serial No. 440,207. (No model.)

To all whom t may concern:

Beit known that I, IRENAS J PALMER, a citizen of the United States, residing at Olean, in the county of Cattaraugus and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Compasses for Laying Out Stair-Curves; and I do declare the following to be afull, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to whichit appertains to make and use the same, reference being had to the aecompanying drawings, and to the letters of reference marked thereon,which form a part of this specification.

My invention relates to a new and improved device for laying out stair-rail curves, and is in the nature of an improvement upon the device for which Letters Patent of the United States No. 461,367 were granted to ine on the 13th day of October, 1891; and it has for its object to provide a device that will lay out the block to be worked, however rough or uneven it may be, into any curved segment of a stair-rail, will indicate upon the opposite sides of the block the lines for the concave and convex sides and the middle of the rail, will give the vertical distance the segment will occupy in the finished rail, and will indicate the lines on the block upon which the ends of the segments are to be cut to properly lit the ends of the adjoining segments composing the stair-rail.

To these ends my invention consists in the novel construction, arrangement, and combination of parts hereinafter fully described, and afterward denitely pointed out in the claims, due reference beinghad to the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification, wherein- Figure l is a perspective View of my improved device, and Fig. 2 an enlarged detail view of the scribing or marking device and its connections.

Referring to said drawings, the letter A indicates the base or platform of the device, from the opposite sides of which arise posts or standards a a, to the upper ends of which is firmly secured a cross bar or` rod B. Said cross bar or rod B is preferably cylindrical in cross-section and firmly and. immovably secured in or to theupper ends of the standards a a.

C indicates a guide-block, which upon its under side and preferably at each end is grooved to straddle or embrace the cross bar or rod B, and is adapted to be supported and moved back and forth thereon. The grooves formed upon the under side of the guideblock are preferably of inverted-V shape, whereby said guide-bleek is adapted to rest and travel upon the guide-rod B without being accurately tted thereto.

To the guide-block O is pivotally secured an arm D, which is provided with a series of perforations d, through any one of which is adapted to be passed a set screw or bolt d', which engages said guide-block, and by means of which the said arm D is adjustably pivoted thereto. To the lower end of the arm D is bolted a rod or tube E, and forming sub.

rated at one end at a right angle to its longitudinal axis, through which perforation passes the lower end of the rod E. The tube F is capable of being adjusted up and down upon the rod E, and is secured at any desired point thereon by means of a set-screw f, which is tapped through one side of said tube and engages the said rod. Within the opposite end of the tube F is fitted a rod or tube G, which is provided at its inner end with a circumferential groove g, and is held against longitudinal movement or displacement within the tube F by means of a setscrew f', tapped through the said tube F and engaging said groove. By this means the rod Gr is prevented from being withdrawn from the tube F, while at tie same time it can be freely rotated therein, for the purpose hereinafter made apparent.

The outer end of the rod Gis perforated at a right angle to its longitudinal axis, and through said perforations freely passes a stylus H, adapted to be moved back and forth in said perforation and secured in its adjusted position by means of a set-screw h,

ICO

tapped in the rod G and engaging said stylus. The stylus H preferably consists of a tube or hollow cylinder, titted in one or each end of which is a styluspoint adapted to trace or imprint the outline of the segment of stairrail upon the block, as hereinafter described.

From the foregoing it will be readily apparent that the guide-block C may be freely moved back and forth upon the guide-rod B, and, with the arm D, may be freely oscillated from side to side thereon. The arm D may also be vertically adjusted upon the guideblock C by causing the set-screw d to engage any one of the series of perforations d in the arm D, and may also be adjusted to either side of a vertical line by tightening up the said set-screw, so as to clamp it firmly to the guide-block C. In cases where extreme limit of adjustment is desired the arm D may be removed from the guide-block C and a longer or shorter arm substituted, and a stillfurther adjustment of said arm may be effected by l securing the rod or the tube E to said arm adjustably, as before described; but this will rarely be found necessary in practice. By the means just above described the approximate vertical adjustment of the stylus is rapidly obtained, and by making the tube F vertically adjustable upon the rod E a very tine and accurate adjustment may finally be obtained. By mounting the tube F upon the rod E, as shown, it is also capable of being revolved or rotated thereon to effect the adjustment of the stylus in a horizontal plane,

and the point of said stylus maybe adjusted above or below7 the plane of said tube by turningthe rod G within the said tube, and to properly present the point of the stylus to blocks of varying thickness said stylus is secured adjustably in said rod, as before described. By these means the stylus can be readily and accurately adj usted to suit Work of any kind and of the most irregular and uneven nature, such as rough-hewn stone, a limb, or root, it being unnecessary to dress off evenly and regularly the work or block before presenting it to the device to be laid out.

I will now proceed to describe the operation of my improved device: The block I, designed to be laid out preparatory to being cut or dressed to form a segment of curved stair-rail,`is placed upon vthe base or platform A of the device and secured thereto by any suitable or ordinary form of clamps or workholders. The block is so placed upon the table that its face will form the same angle with the line .I J (which lies parallel and in the same Vertical plane with the guide-rod B) that the segment into which it is finally to be worked will lnake with a verticalline when assembled with fellow segments to form the completed stair-rail. The'different parts are first adjusted to properly present the stylus to the block to be operated upon, and the guideblock C, carrying the arm D and the stylus, is pushed or caused to travel upon the guiderod B, and by holding the end of the stylus against the face of the block it is caused to trace a line 7c Z m upon said block, which represents the middle line of the stair-rail curve. As-the guide-block C, carrying the arm D, is moved upon the guide-rod B, it is also turned thereon to permit the stylus to follow the face of the block. The guide-block and connections carrying the stylus are next reversed upon the guide-rod B and a similar line klm traced upon the other side or face of the block. Lines for the concave and convex sides of the rail are similarly drawn. Two points are now determined upon the block, said points in`dieating the places at which the rail is to be cut off. As the stylus is caused to trace the line 7c Z m from the point t to the point m, the distance traversed by the guide-block upon the guide-rod B is noted. This distance is the vertical distance the segment will occupy in the finished rail. It now remains to find or determine the lines upon which the block is to be cut, that its ends may properly fit the ends of the adjoining segments of the finished rail. The line p q on the face of the block is perpendicular to the axis of the guide-rod B. A plane containing this line and perpendicular to the face of the block, as indicated by the linesp q and q fr, is the plane in which the block should be cut if it were to be cut at this point. The end of the stylus is now placed upon the point Z of the line 7c Z m, it being one point in the plane formed by the linesp q and q r, and adjust the parts until the straight side s s of the tube F coincides with said plane. As a straight line and a point not in the line determine a plane, the straight side s s of the tube F and the point of the stylus determines the plane@ q-r. The adjustment being true for this place is t-rue for any other point on the block, provided the point of the stylus rests upon line k Z m. By placing the point of the stylus at m, being j the point at which'oue end of the segment should be cut and sighting across the straight side s s of the tube F and through the point of the stylus, the line t t will be indicated to the eye and can then be traced upon the block. This line is the line upon which the end of the segment should be cut to properly tit the end of the adjacent segment of the finished rail. The line in which the other end of the segment should be cut may bedeterrnined in the same manner.

The device above described enables persons not experienced in the usual methods to successfully lay out winding-stair rails, and this may be done with equal facility whether the block be dressed true or whether its sides are rough and uneven, such as unhewn or rough-hewn stone, a limb, or a root.

Instead of making the guide-rod B cylindrical, it may be made of any suitable ordesired form in cross-section; but I prefer to make it as shown, inasmuch if it be made other than cylindrical in cross-section the lgrooves upon the bottom of the-guide-block IIO C must be of a configuration to correspond therewith, and therefore the guide block could not be turned on the said guide-rod, rendering it necessary to pivot the said guiderod in the standards d a, as shown and described in my former Letters Patent, No. 461,367, before mentioned. While the principle involved in the present invention and that described in said patent are similar, the construction herein described is far preferable for the reason that the guide-rod may be firmly fixed in the standards a a., rendering the device firmer. The guide-block C, with its attached parts, can be readily lifted from the rod B and reversed and replaced. The arm D and the parts for supporting the same do not require to be made with precision or fine workmanship in order that the device may produce accurate results and would-still produce the same results if it should become bent, Warped, or twisted, and said bar and the tube E can be readily and cheaply replaced by a bar of different length, therebyincreasing the capacity of the device. The proper planes for cutting the ends ofthe blocks can be ascertained without the necessity of providing a separate attachment, and the entire device can be made at a greatly-reduced cost and still produce the most accurate results.

Having fully described my invention, what I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is l l. In a device forlaying out stair-rail curves, the combination, with a platform and a horizontal guide-rod supported above the same, of a guide-block loosely supported upon said guide-rod and free to be reciprocated and turned thereon, a vertically-adjustable arm pivotally connected to said guide-block, means for clamping it rigidly thereto, and a stylus adjustably connected to said arm,sub stantially as described.

2. In a device for laying out stair-rail curves, the combination, with a platform and a horizontal guide-rod supported above the same, of a guide-block loosely supported upon said guide-rod and adapted to be reciprocated and turned thereon, an arm pivotally connected to said guide-block and provided with means for clamping it rigidly thereto, a rod secured to and longitudinally adjustable on said arm, and a stylus adjustably connected to said rod, substantially as described.

3. In a device for laying out stair-rail curves, the combination, with the platform A, standards ct ct, and the guide-rod B, rigidly secured to said stan dards, of the guide-block C, grooved upon its under side and loosely supported upon said guide-rod and free to be reciprocated and turned thereon, and a stylus adj ustably connected to said guide-block, constructed and arranged substantially as described, whereby the guide-block carrying the stylus and connections may be removed from the guide-rod and reversed, for the purpose specied.

4. In a device for laying out stair-rail curves, the combination, with the platform A, standards a a, and the cylindrical guide-rod B, rigidly secured to said standards, of the guideblock C, provided upon its under side with V-shape grooves and loosely supported upon said guide-rod, and a stylus adj ustably connected to said guide-block, substantially as shown and described, and for the purpose specified.

5. In a device forlaying out stair-rail curves, the combination, with the platform A, standards a a, and horizontal guide-rod B, of the grooved guide block C, loosely supported upon said guide-rod, the arm D, pivotally connected to said guide-block, means for rigidly clamping it thereto, the rod E, secured to the arm D, the hollow tube F, vertically'adjustable on the rod E and provided with a set- -screw for securing it in its adjusted position,

a rod mounted in the tube F and free to be turned therein and carrying a stylus, and a set-screw for binding the said rod in said tube, substantially as shown and described, and for the purpose specified.

6. In a device-for laying outstair-rail curves, the combination, with the platform A, standards a, a, and horizontal guide-rod B, of the guide-block C, supported and free to be reciprooated and turned on said guide-rod, the arm D, pivotally connected to said guideblock, means for rigidly clamping it thereto, the rod E, secured to the arm D,'the tube F, vertically adjustable on the rod E and provided with a set-screw for securing it in its adjusted position, a rod G, fitting within the tube F and circumferentially grooved near its inner end, a set-screw carried by the tube F and engaging said circumferential groove, and a stylus adj ustably secured in the outer end of the said tube and at right angle to its longitudinal axis, substantially as shown and described, and for the purpose specified.

7. In adevice forlaying out stair-rail curves, the combination of the table A, standards d a, horizontal guide-rod B, the guide-block C, supported and free to be reciprocated and turned on said guide-rod, the arm pivotally connected to said guide-block, means for clamping it rigidly thereto, thoe rod E, secured to the arm D, the vertically-adjustable tube F, secured on the said rod by a set-screw, the rod G, fitted in said tube and free to be rotated therein, and a stylus H, adj ustably secured in the outer end of the rod Gr at right angles to its longitudinal axis, said stylus consisting of a hollow tube having fitted in i-ts ends a tapered sharpened point, substantially as shown and described.

In testimony whereof Iafix mysignature 1n presence of two witnesses.

IRENAS J. PALMER. 

